Bless the Broken Road
by Stelena-Beautiful
Summary: Who would have ever thought that Jamie Martin would be the one person Greenlee Smythe needs most? A short story.
1. Chapter 1

**Bless the Broken Road**

_**A Jamie and Greenlee short story.**_

**Chapter 1**

_**October 2008**_

Jamie Martin knew that he should have come back to Pine Valley sooner but it just never seemed like the right time. There had always been a million other things that he would rather be doing. Maybe he was running from his past, like his grandmother Ruth had once told him that he was. Maybe he didn't want to face reality. Maybe he had just wanted an escape from this oppressive, gossipy little town…

Whatever it was that had driven him away, he didn't relish returning now. As he pulled his car up in front of his dad's place – a place that he didn't even recognize (it would never be home), he let out a long, soft sigh. He popped open the car door, thinking about how he was going to meet his sister for the first time. Well, meet Kathy _again,_ actually knowing that she was his sister this time.

This of course made him think of her. Julia. The woman he felt like he had loved more than any other in his short life. The woman he had broken when he refused to give her children and had then left town. How hard would it have been to stick around? To give her those dozen babies she had craved- or even just one of them? How hard would it have been to put himself out there and not be a selfish bastard? It would not have been difficult at all and now she was gone.

_Forever._

Maybe he could have saved her, protected her from her tragic fate but he would never know now and he had yet to even cry about it. Definitely had not allowed himself to really embrace the pain and guilt and the sadness of the loss. Not until now.

Now tears pooled in his wide blue eyes as he had pushed open the car door and started to climb out. As soon as his feet hit the pavement, he realized that he just could not do this. Face his family. Face the whole world. At least not right now. He had to somehow make peace with the past first.

He climbed back into his Jetta and sped off before his father ever knew he had been there at all.

XoXoXo

Greenlee Smythe Devane would have done almost anything at this point to convince her husband Aidan that she was no longer in love with her ex, Ryan Lavery. Aidan had left her and she knew there was no going back but she'd never known when to call it quits so she would at least try one more time to get through his thick British skull. She loved Aidan, she did; she just needed to focus on that and nothing else.

She walked up the front steps of the grand manse known as Wildwind and pressed down on the doorbell. She waited on the porch, silently praying that he would open the door. He had moved back there a week and a half ago after he had overheard her and Ryan kissing. Yes, overheard. Or assumed he had when he planted a listening device in Greenlee's earring. That sounded like some asinine move in a spy movie or a cheesy soap opera but it had been real and it had happened. At the time, Greenlee hadn't known whether to slap the shit out of Aidan or ask his forgiveness for kissing his mortal nemesis. She had been undecided because she was so angry but now she was ready to do the latter. Ask for his forgiveness and beg him to come back home where he belonged.

She bounced around anxiously on the balls of her feet as she waited for Aidan to open the damned door. After standing there for five minutes and repeatedly shoving her acrylic nail down on the bell, she knew no one was going to open the door.

With a sigh she turned up the collar of her black fur-lined jacket and started to turn and walk back to her car when she heard the rumble of an engine just up the road. Aidan. It had to be Aidan. She broke out into a little smile and crossed her arms to wait for him. When she saw the dark car pull into the driveway, she raced over to it. "Aid-" she started to say but seeing who it really was, the response died on her tongue.

Jamie Martin, appearing older and more reserved than she had ever seen him, looked at her as he climbed out of his car. "Hey," he finally spoke in a soft voice. "I take it you were expecting someone else ..."

She just sighed and tried her best to conceal her disappointment.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks for reading! I have seen several pictures of R-Bud and Justin Bruening together and that's what sparked this story. I hope you all like it.**_

**Chapter 2**

"No, you are _not_ the one I was expecting to see," Greenlee admitted, a little crisply.

"Oh, yeah well, sorry," Jamie said but to her ears, he didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Can you let me inside?"

"Is that any of your business and yeah, I guess so. I've still got the keys to the palace," he quietly.

Greenlee sighed. "Where did you get them?"

"I used to live here," Jamie answered with a simple shrug that somehow managed to convey to Greenlee that he was carrying the weight of the world on his broad shoulders.

"Oh?" Greenlee said. "Aidan did too for awhile. I guess there is a caretaker here looking out for the place now since Julia died-" She broke off when she noticed the stormy, almost-dangerous look in his eyes. For god's sake, what was his problem?

She noted that he appeared to have aged at least ten years since she saw him last. There were dark rings under his eyes and she wanted to recommend a natural concealer for them. He wasn't in a jovial mood though, obviously, so she didn't think she should press her luck.

Jamie brushed past her and went toward the front door, pausing on the stoop briefly. He looked up at the huge manor with a mixture of wariness and reverence. His hand shook a bit as he unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open to allow Greenlee to walk over the threshold.

She was struck immediately by how cold and dreary the place both looked and felt. She remembered fondly the nights the place was lit to the ceilings with crystal for one of Edmund Grey's soirees. Soirees he had thrown in memory of his thought to be deceased wife, Maria. Later Maria turned up very much alive and ironically, it was Edmund who had later died, murdered by Ryan's crazy ass brother, Jonathan Lavery.

"So much death …" She murmured.

"Yeah, too much," Jamie agreed, quietly walking over to the dusty liquor cabinet and pulling open the doors. There appeared to be alcohol of every brand and from every foreign land in there. Greenlee watched as Jamie picked up a decanter of rum, pulling off the top. To her dismay and to her shock, he began to drink right from the bottle and she couldn't help but think that he no longer seemed like the happy-go-lucky Jamie Martin she had once known - actually, more truthfully, had only been mildly acquainted with. He seemed haunted somehow, badly broken down.

He moved over to the mantle and picked up a picture. She glanced nosily at it as he dropped down onto the heavy brocade sofa. It was a picture of Jamie and Julia smiling and looking at each other adoringly, like two people deeply in love.

"So that explains it," Greenlee said, dropping down onto the arm of the sofa opposite him.

"Explains what?" Jamie asked, finally seeming to take notice of her presence.

"Why you look the way I feel," Greenlee said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a long swig of the rum and swishing it around in his mouth before sucking it greedily down his throat in one gulp.

"You look the way I feel," Greenlee repeated. "Unhappy. No, miserable actually … I forgot until this moment that you and Julia were together. I'm so -"

Jamie held up a slightly shaky hand. "Don't say it," he said forcefully. "Don't say you are sorry for me because for one, I don't deserve your pity and two, it doesn't change a damn thing."

"No, I know," she agreed. "I remember when my Leo died that all people did was say 'sorry for your loss' or 'sorry you lost someone you loved with all your heart'. As if that was supposed to make it better. As if that would make the pain go away …" Her voice trailed off and to her horror, she realized she had tears springing to her eyes. It was beyond awkward and embarrassing sitting there crying in front of someone she barely knew. Or had never taken the time to get to know, actually. He wasn't half-bad either, if a bit of a downer. Not that she could blame him. He had lost the love of his life. Greenlee had been there and it hurt like nothing she had ever felt before.

Thinking about everything she had lost, suddenly made her feel exhausted and weak and she must have looked that way because Jamie promptly passed her the half-empty bottle of rum. "You look like you could use it," he said, standing then and walking out of the room.

Greenlee thought briefly about the germs Jamie must have left behind on the rim of the bottle, but took a long swig anyway.

XoXoXo

Jamie walked out the kitchen door of Wildwind, in a hurry to escape the millions of cloying memories that surrounded him. Memories of he and Julia in better times, and even worse times, but what had been important was that they had shared those memories together until he made the biggest mistake of his life and walked out on her.

"I'm sorry, Julia," he murmured to the wind as he walked out into the quickly darkening day. He could see dark storm clouds gathering in the sky at a rapid rate and the wind seemed to have picked up in extreme speed. Still, he kept walking along the garden path until he reached the stables where he heard the animals stomping around anxiously in their stalls. He figured the sudden, dramatic shift in the weather had them all riled up.

He noticed Julia's favorite horse, Shadow, in the corner stall and he approached the horse, reaching out to touch his long, dark mane. He nearly lost his hand in the process.

"What the hell!" he snapped as he noticed the big gash in his hand that was oozing blood that trickled down his fingertips and off to puddle on the ground.

He turned around, hoping to find a dry, preferably sterile cloth, to wrap his hand in but could not find one. He did however notice the windows begin to rattle in their very frames. Right then, one shattered as if blown apart from the outside and a sharp shard of glass burrowed in his cheek. "Dammit!" he cursed.

But that was not the least of his worries because as he looked out what had once been a window, he saw a very large cloud of dust and grime, a twister, carrying a very large plank of wood right in his direction. Before he could duck, it had smashed right into the building, splintering the very walls as if they were made of nothing more than stale graham crackers.

He managed to duck into the corner just in time to avoid being crushed underneath the huge plank board. He knew he had to get back to shelter but he hated to leave the animals behind. Still, as usual, he felt helpless to stop fate. He pulled himself to his feet and started running out of what was left of the stables like hell itself was on his tail - and it might as well have been.

He made it to the main house and threw open the door just as it too splintered down the middle. He ducked to the side and it landed with a crash against the opposite wall.

"What the hell is going on?" He heard Greenlee screech over the intense blowing wind and through his muddled thoughts.

She was standing in the doorway, dark blonde hair whipping around her face, and looked as panicked as he felt.

He immediately strode over to her and grabbing her by the waist, pulled her up into his arms. He then carried her towards the basement door. He said nothing as he broke into a run. What could one say in a moment like this?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thanks to Casie01 who has been so faithfully reading and reviewing this. I am glad you like it thus far. I hope you **__**all**__** enjoy this chapter.**_

**Chapter 3**

The breath was sucked from Greenlee's lungs as she watched Jamie come crashing through the front door. The next moment the door splintered down the middle with a loud crack! Before she could even think to scream, Jamie was grabbing her around the waist, swinging her up into his arms and charging down the hallway towards the kitchen.

She felt awkward in his embrace but not entirely uncomfortable either. Still, the walls of Wildwind were close to collapsing right on top of them. The sudden tornado was ripping through the walls of the estate like the manse had been constructed of twigs and not strong, stone mortar that was like a century old. Greenlee twisted a bit in Jamie's arms and looked over his shoulder. This time a scream came out, along with a warning. "Faster, faster! It's … it's so close."

Jamie didn't reply as his powerful legs pumped. He raced forward but she was sure they wouldn't make it to – wherever it was they were headed – in time. She closed her eyes and imagined that she saw Leo beckoning to her. She felt a peaceful feeling wash over her. She was going to be okay because she would be with her Leo again. After all of the suffering, after all of the pain… Well, she was a fighter but why fight this?

She kept her eyes closed as she felt herself sailing through the air._ Literally._ She forced her eyes open then - just as she went hurtling down a set of steps and heard a clatter. The door was slamming after her. She was discombobulated but she realized right before she hit the cold, hard floor that Jamie had thrown her to safety. She cried out though as she landed on her wrist – _hard._ She heard it crack, even over the whistling wind. She ground her teeth into her bottom lip to hold back a stream of curses. She wasn't with her Leo. This wasn't heaven. _Not even close._

She awkwardly rolled herself to a sitting position on the hard, cement floor. Near darkness was all around her and all she could hear was the roar of the wind above. "Jamie?" She said through gritted teeth. "Jamie?!" There was a slight panicky tone to her voice. "Okay answer me, alright? Because I want to yell at you for throwing me and probably breaking my wrist in the process." She held her arm awkwardly to her chest. It throbbed horribly and she hissed.

"_Jamie?"_

"I'm – I'm here," Jamie called, his voice cutting through the darkness suddenly.

"Okay well a reply would be nice."

"I am replying … now." She heard him hiss softly.

"What? _What is it?"_ She demanded.

"Nothing," he said but he didn't sound too sure. "Anyway, you said something about your wrist."

"Yes!" Greenlee said. "I am pretty damn sure it's broken. I need it fixed right now! How long will be trapped down here anyway? Wait, where are we exactly?"

"The cellar. It's the only place I could think of where we might have a fighting chance to survive this. I had to throw you but it was sort of the only way to make it out alive."

Greenlee felt tears sting her eyes. She was alive but much worse for wear. Her most recent marriage was likely over and she was stuck here in the darkness where there could be big hairy spiders and beady-eyed rats with big gray teeth. She trembled. Most of all, she hated that Leo wasn't here. In moments like this, that's all she wanted. _Leo._ Leo would know the right thing to do and the right thing to say.

She heard scuffling in the darkness and for a moment she was sure some nasty creature had crawled out of its hiding place to come after her. She stayed absolutely still though her eyes darted around in anxiousness. There were few things she despised worse than creepy-crawlies. "Jamie?"

He sighed. "Yeah?"

"Are you by any chance making that noise?"

"Actually, yeah. I am trying to find a light or something."

"Thank god," Greenlee murmured. For now, she wouldn't be bitten. She listened as she heard Jamie scraping around in the dark. Just then a light popped on. An old-fashioned looking lantern hung from Jamie's calloused fingers.

"The batteries work."

"It's electric! God, yes!" Greenlee said. "I'm really not a big fan of the darkness. Or spiders or hairy rats or –"

"I get it." Jamie held up a hand to stop her. He crawled over to her on his knees and that's when she noticed a trail of … _something_… following in his wake. She realized what it was then as Jamie closed the distance between them. "You're bleeding. Did I mention I hate the sight of blood? I've been in the hospital way too many times and -"

"I get it, really I do," Jamie said tersely. He set the lantern down on the floor beside him. "I guess I cut it when I took a flying leap too."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Probably not as badly as that wrist of yours." Jamie looked at the way she was hugging her arm to her chest. He held out his hand. "Can I?"

"Only if you're a licensed physician."

"Fortunately I am."

"Really?" Greenlee asked.

"Yeah I really am. Board certified and all that."

Greenlee nodded. She bit back a whimper as she gently held out her hand to him as best as she could. He caught her palm in his much larger hand and she winced as she felt his fingers grazed the sorest part of her wrist.

"I have good news and I have bad news," Jamie said, meeting her eyes. "Which do you want first?"

Greenlee sighed. "The bad. Then hopefully the good –"

"Will outweigh the bad."

"Right … So what is it?"

"The bad news is that it's definitely broken and that I have to set it."

"What?!" Greenlee bucked on the floor in indigence."No thank you. It's going to hurt like a bitch."

"Yeah it will."

Greenlee rolled her eyes. "And the good part is?"

"I can do it quickly because –"

"You're a doctor."

"Right."

"Well, thanks, but I think I'd rather just wait a bit."

"That's not a good idea. And god knows we aren't getting out of here for a bit. Don't you hear that storm raging above us?"

"Of course I do. I'm not deaf," Greenlee sad. "But it doesn't matter. You're not doing this. Not down here. I'm going to just call Kendall and –"

"I bet the power lines are all down."

"That may well be but I am going to try… Wait, where's my purse?" She watched Jamie shrug. "Shit! I left it upstairs. Right on the coffee table. Which is probably demolished by now, taking my beautiful one of a kind Louis Vuitton handbag with it. Stupid storms. I hate this so damn much. I can't believe how suddenly this one came on."

"Me either."

"Well I'll wait it out anyway, thank you," Greenlee said. "I can deal with my wrist for now." She yanked her hand from his grasp and immediately howled at the pain.

"You were saying …"

Greenlee glared at him. "You really can make it quick?"

"Yeah. The anticipation of the pain is sometimes a lot worse than the actual pain."

"I'm sure."

Greenlee watched Jamie grab for the bottom of his tee-shirt and give it a tug. "Um, what _are_ you doing?"

"We need something to make a sling with. I don't see any blankets or anything around."

"My sweater …"

"That would be better. Where is it?"

"Upstairs too … Ugh," Greenlee said. She shrugged. "But better your shirt than mine. This is a Robert Graham Original."

"Is there anything on you that's_ not_ a designer original?" Jamie held up a hand. "Never mind. I honestly don't want to know."

"I wasn't going to tell you anyway." She averted her eyes as Jamie yanked off his shirt. She heard fabric ripping and she finally glanced over to see him fashioning a sling out of the long sleeves of the material. She was hyperaware there was a half-naked man she didn't really know sitting with her in the semi-darkness. It was awkward to say the least but she was determined not to notice. He was trying to help her and she wasn't going to bite his head off right now. She didn't have the energy at the moment.

"I try," Jamie said. "Now give me your hand."

Greenlee cringed. "I really hate this," she said. "Like hate hate hate beyond words."

"I bet," Jamie said. "Now come on. Let's make this quick." He looked at her with sympathy in his eyes. "Look, just think of the happiest moment of your life and focus on that instead of the pain."

Greenlee nodded and closed her eyes. She pictured Leo on their wedding day; the way he smiled at her with that smile that was all hers to love. That was the happiest day of her life and she had thought it would last forever – that _they_ would last forever. Her eyes stung now and she was content to let Jamie think that it was the pain from her wrist being set that was paining her.

XoXoXo

A few minutes later, Greenlee was sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her arm to her chest. It was in the makeshift sling now but she was still glaring at Jamie as she sat there rigidly. "That sucked," she finally spoke.

Jamie nodded. "I'm sorry. But it's set and it should heal okay."

"You wouldn't happen to have some Vicodin on you, would you?"

Jamie shook his head as he crawled into the opposite corner, resting his head back against the wall. He was tired, so freaking tired. He just wanted a nap but it seemed not to be happening right now.

"Okay well, you set my wrist. Don't you think you should take care of that leg now?" Greenlee said. "It's kind of gross. You bleeding all over the place like that."

"It's clotting up already," Jamie said with a shrug. The truth was that his leg was throbbing but he had no more material to wrap it in and certainly no antiseptic. Already it was slowing to a trickle even if it still stung like a bitch.

"Fine, whatever." Greenlee went to cross her arms over her chest and quickly thought better of it. He could tell every movement was hell for her but she was braver than most people who he had dealt with that had broken bones.

A long silence fell between them and Jamie closed his eyes. In his mind, he pictured Julia the last time he had seen her. There had been tears in her rich brown eyes as he prepared to walk away. He hadn't expected it to be forever, he hadn't intended that at all. He'd been so stupid. So completely idiotic, stubborn and selfish. She was gone, she was actually gone forever. He felt a little moisture collecting in his eyes and he blinked rapidly to chase away the tears that were threatening. He wasn't one to cry but things just seemed so incredibly bleak right now.

He crossed his arms over his chest and opened his eyes. Greenlee's head was resting back against the wall behind her and she looked as miserable as he felt. "This sucks," she said, meeting his eyes. "Like really, really sucks. I need to get out of here. I don't do well in confined places. Believe it or not, I've been in a few really tight places in my lifetime."

"We have to wait a little longer, just to be sure that the storm is really over. Usually where one twister is…"

"Another is close behind. Yeah, I figured." She sighed and another potent silence fell between them.

Hours seemed to pass as he sat there with his eyes closed. In reality, it may have only been ten or twenty minutes at most. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"I just realized something." 

"What?"

"I didn't thank you."

"For throwing you down the stairs?" he asked facetiously.

"For saving my life."

"Well, you're welcome. That's my job."

"I get that but considering what you did… Well, I almost feel like I have a second chance. I might not get to be with my Leo right now –" her voice softened –" but I can make things worth with Aidan. I am more determined than ever to hold onto him because he's the best thing to happen to me in a really long time." She chuckled humorlessly. "Sorry, that's too much information. We barely know each other. You're JR's brother right?"

"Something like that," Jamie said with a shrug. "And you're Ryan Lavery's –"

"Ex!" Greenlee said quickly. _"Ex._ I realized very recently that's all we are or can ever be. We were married for awhile but I finally figured something out."

"What's that?"

"Ryan and I… we're really, _really_ bad for each other. When we're together, we hurt people. Good people like Aidan."

Jamie nodded. He wasn't sure why Greenlee was telling him all of this. Maybe because he was a captive audience and she just needed to get everything off of her chest. Even a virtual stranger would do in a pinch and in fact, sometimes it was easier to talk to someone who you weren't likely to spend time with again.

"TMI, again," Greenlee said. "My mouth just can't stay shut tonight."

"I noticed."

Greenlee sighed softly. "It's like pressure of speech or something. I can't stop myself and it's horrifying."

Jamie offered her a weak smile. "Well, don't stop on my account. I mean, it's not like there's a ton of other things to do right now."

"No kidding. I could use a drink. You would think a wine cellar would be – I don't know – actually stocked with wine. I don't see any though. This place is pretty empty."

Jamie nodded sadly. "Yeah it is." His voice trailed off for a moment. "There was just a caretaker I think, taking care of the place and the horses. I don't think any of the horses could have made it."

"Oh those poor animals."

"If I could have –"

"I am sure that you would have saved them if you could. Instead, you saved me and I have to thank you for that again. I have a second chance to make things right with Aidan and I'm not going to waste it. I just _can't…"_

"I hope you get that second chance," Jamie said. The sad truth was that he didn't see himself getting a second chance. When Julia died, he felt in many ways, it was all over for him. There was no hope, no light, no… _anything._

**TO BE CONTINUED**


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